Utah
Utah Jazz’ Isaiah Collier One Of The Best Rookies In The NBA?
The USC Trojans men’s basketball team had one of their worst seasons in recent memory during the 2023-24 campaign. Finishing just 15-18 overall, the Trojans had their lowest win total since the 2014-15 season, where USC had only 12 wins.
However, the Trojans did have a player selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft when the Utah Jazz selected guard Isaiah Collier 29th overall. It was a flier pick by one of the league’s worst teams at the time, but Collier has truly blossomed into a viable option in the backcourt for the Jazz.
ESPN ranked Collier as the No. 14 rookie in the draft class in their final rookie rankings list.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN said that despite another rough season from Utah, Collier managed to get valuable in-game reps to progress his development.
“The Jazz handed Collier the point guard reins in January, and while Utah sits at the bottom of the Western Conference, he has gained valuable experience. He broke franchise legend John Stockton’s team record for rookie assists (416) and now leads all rookies in assists (and turnovers) per game,” Wood said.
In his lone season at USC, Collier averaged 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. The Georgia native suffered a hand injury that cost him a good chunk of the second half of the regular season, something that hurt his draft stock in the long run. Questions about his ball-handling and perimeter shooting also contributed to Collier’s fall on draft night.
“Collier struggles with his jumper and is mistake-prone, but his aggressiveness and playmaking chops running the offense have been a bright spot. Once viewed as one of the top overall prospects in the 2024 class, the Jazz took a low-risk swing on Collier after he fell in the draft. Utah might reap some value…if he becomes a better shooter and sharpens his decision-making,” Woo said.
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After struggling to find a defined role to begin the season, Collier settled into role on the team after it became apparent the team had no immediate future in the postseason. With only one game left in the regular season, Collier’s stat line at the end of the season should resemble something around eight points, six assists, and three rebounds per game.
That leaves him as the sixth-highest scoring Trojan in the NBA. Interestingly enough, every USC alum ahead of him on the list all play in the frontcourt, leaving Collier as one of the most up-and-coming guards in the NBA to come from USC.
Entering next season, the Jazz will have two expiring contracts at the guard position with Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton set to become free agents. If Collier has shown the front office that he is capable of running the point for the team, it could make the choice to build around their budding star easy.
Utah
Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president
Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Utah
Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods
BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.
After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.
Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.
“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.
An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.
Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.
Utah
Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.
Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.
Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.
“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”
When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.
An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.
In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.
Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.
Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.
In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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